


till she appeared (and the soul felt its worth)

by natcsharomanova



Category: Carmilla (Web Series)
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Established Relationship, F/F, Merry Christmas Creampuffs!, Post-Movie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-24
Updated: 2017-12-24
Packaged: 2019-02-19 22:43:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,553
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13133748
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/natcsharomanova/pseuds/natcsharomanova
Summary: Laura has been working late at the office every night during the lead-up to Christmas - or, at least, that's what Carmilla thought, until she saw said girlfriend dressed up as an elf, working at Santa's Grotto.





	till she appeared (and the soul felt its worth)

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Holidays! This year was amazing for us; we got to many amazing fan events and KindaTV videos and, most importantly, a movie from content which started off as a little webseries. No matter what next year brings, we have the most amazing fandom, and the most amazing creators within it.

Carmilla had an entire turkey in her backpack, and Laura was dressed like an elf.

She had promised Laura that she’d order the turkey they needed to take to Sherman Hollis’ house the day after Christmas well in advance, so as to avoid the Christmas rush and the ruining of the Yuletide traditions Laura’s family took far too seriously. Since neither Carmilla nor Laura actually _liked_ turkey, their Christmas day - a lazy, loving, languid day filled with presents and Christmas specials on the television and kisses and cookies - was probably going to sway away from food-related traditions (Carmilla was still trying to find an acceptable way to suggest they get Chinese take-away from their favourite local place in lieu of a roast). So, since Laura graciously agreed that they shouldn’t waste money on food they didn’t enjoy, all Carmilla had to do was pre-order a turkey for them to cook to perfection and please Sherman with.

Only snag in the plan: Carmilla had been so busy making _new_ traditions with Laura over the build-up to Christmas, including staying up until 3am far too many nights in a row, trying to find the perfect gift for Laura (which, when her girlfriend was literally the god of gift-giving, was not an easy task), that she might have forgotten that one, simple, easy task. And then she might have purposefully avoided telling Laura this, in order to keep the stress-filled holidays as stress-less as possible.

Carmilla was certainly feeling the stress as she ran to the nearest shopping centre, heart racing a mile a minute, knowing if she didn’t find a turkey and shove it into the fridge in their apartment before Laura got home from work, she was in for a world of pain.

As she paced the aisles in the supermarket within the mall, Carmilla felt a strange, oxymoronic feeling settling within her. On the one hand, she was really glad Laura was working late every night up until Christmas Eve: it meant she had time to surprise her with Christmas decorations and delicacies and early gifts and last-minute turkey finding. However, this wasn’t like the past holidays they had shared - just as wonderful, just as beautiful, but different. She missed snuggling with her girlfriend in front of their (artificial) roaring fire, mugs of hot cocoa in hand, miniature marshmallows drowning in the sugary liquid as they shared lazy kisses and anecdotes about gingerbread cookies which felt more than a lifetime away. It wasn’t that they hadn’t seen each other at all; they slept in the same bed every night and woke up entangled together every morning. But it was still _different_.

Carmilla had never been one for change.

One especially broody, lonely night she had considered phoning Laura’s manager, putting on a sickeningly sweet voice to ask, _beg_ for Laura to be allowed to leave work early so the two could walk around the Christmas markets, so similar to the ones they ran through from a group of angry, pitchfork wielding citizens one night in Silas. She couldn't, though, as much as she wanted to, because Laura was still new there, and Carmilla would never risk her work, her dream.

(They ended up going to the market anyway, only getting twenty minutes before closing and mostly seeing the stalls being packed away. It was still a perfect evening.)

Stuck in thoughts of Laura - her thoughts were _always_ stuck in Laura, and it was becoming quite the distraction in her Masters classes - Carmilla spotted it. Sitting alone on a shelf it didn’t belong it, mislabelled and clearly discarded by a dissatisfied shopper, was a turkey. It was smaller than Laura was hoping for, but beggars couldn’t be choosers: it would suffice.

Carmilla thanked the residues of vampiric powers and centuries of manipulation as she weaved through bodies of other last-minute Christmas shoppers - tired, angry people holding bundles of wrapping paper or flowers or potatoes, and Carmilla was so happy she started working on Laura’s Christmas gift in November, because turkey-related stress was all she could really handle. She grabbed the turkey with two hands, just as another woman’s fingers were about to brush its plastic wrapper, and with a wolfish grin and wink to her competitor, Carmilla raced to the self-checkout.

As she left the supermarket, entering the main centre of the mall, the brunette finally felt the last tendrils of Christmas spirit encompass her. The Christmas tree in front of her gleamed brighter, shone greener, and instead of seeming like an outdated tradition and strangely creepy, the Santa grotto the mall staffers had set up seemed cute and enticing. A group of carolers sung nearby, an old and mostly forgotten German hymn which had thoughts of dancing and drinking mulled wine with Mattie flood Carmilla’s senses for a blissful few minutes. She neared closer, memories pulling her in like a tether, and that’s when she saw her.

Carmilla had an entire turkey in her backpack, and Laura was dressed like an elf.

She had a green, pointed hat on her head, with a little bell ringing each time she enthusiastically nodded her head at the kids she was herding around. Carmilla wondered how she didn’t give herself whiplash. The dress she was wearing was, admittedly, cute: it ended halfway down her thigh, and the striped stockings that were paired beneath it somehow created the perfect image of innocence and seduction.

Laura was beautiful and enticing even dressed as an elf. But Carmilla was too confused to be completely taken away (though it did take a few seconds more than it should have to compose her thoughts).

She was dressed as an elf, helping out at Santa’s grotto, when she was supposed to be dressed in a work-casual outfit, furiously typing notes onto her work computer or stapling research files together or whatever else it is freshly-graduated investigative journalists/reporters are asked to do.

The green-clad elf - Carmilla’s green-clad elf - was lifting a young boy off of Santa’s lap, handing him one of the perfectly wrapped gifts from a sack behind the chair, her head falling back in laughter as the child presumably said something extremely cute, ringing the bell on her hat before being led away by his mother. When she looked back up, her hazelnut eyes made direct contact with Carmilla’s stare, and the laughter was drained entirely from her expression.

Laura and Carmilla didn’t keep secrets anymore. It was an unspoken promise they made the day they crawled out of a pit together, and whilst both parties had been guilty of breaking it, it was part of the foundation of their relationship, and a vital piece at that. Carmilla didn’t feel betrayed, per se; as she watched Laura whisper something to another elf and begin to walk towards her, it was Carmilla feeling guilty, responsible for the sullen and embarrassed loom on her girlfriend’s face. She was certain Laura would have a perfectly good reason for lying about where she was tonight (and presumably every other night she had said she was working late at the office) - and she trusted her enough to know that sneaking off to be an elf at Santa’s grotto was definitely not the worse thing that could happen in a long-term relationship.

Before she knew it, Laura was one step away from her - a step Carmilla closed immediately, hands cupping Laura’s elbows and frown melting into a warm smile. She missed her, always did when she was at work whilst Carmilla was at lectures, and never missed an opportunity to make up for their lost space and time. Laura didn’t lean away, but couldn’t quite return the look - she was sheepish for having been caught out, and probably was feeling inadequate in her curly-toed elf slippers in comparison to Carmilla’s heavy black hiking boots.

**“** So, uh, I’m dressed as an elf, **”** Laura broke the silence in an ingenuine chipper tone (though her posture was more relaxed now it was clear Carmilla wasn’t angry at her), at the exact moment Carmilla blurted out **“** I have a turkey in my backpack **”** , before surging forward and kissing her girlfriend.

These were the Christmas memories she had wanted to make, and the Christmas memories she had lost due to Laura’s work schedule. She hadn’t complained to her, not directly, but now she couldn’t help but feel like a part of Laura didn’t want to make those memories too - why else would she voluntarily take on more work and not tell Carmilla about it? Still, she kissed her girlfriend, trying to wordlessly communicate that she wasn’t angry, and that Laura had nothing to be embarrassed about.

When they pulled apart, deaf to the giggles of children watching them and blind to the disapproving looks of their parents, Laura’s smile was authentic, and whilst just as confused, Carmilla felt her doubts slipping away too.

**“** You want to explain why you’re here? Or did you just like the cute outfit. **”** Carmilla jingled Laura’s hat’s bell, just as the boy had done moments before, revelling in the giggle Laura let out before sobering up, clearly preparing for an explanation Carmilla desperately craved (she never had liked mysteries).

Laura took her hand, the material of her costume gloves not taking away from the intimacy of the action, and led Carmilla to one of the bench’s off to the side of the grotto. **“** I’m sorry I lied, **”** she started, continuing talking before Carmilla was allowed to sweep her apologies away. **“** I know we don’t do that. But -- if I tell you, it’s going to ruin the Christmas surprise. **”**

She looked up at Carmilla with big-doe eyes - the ones she knew worked every time, especially when paired with the pouting of the lips she was doing right now. The brunette laughed, slipping her arm around Laura’s waist, bringing the pair impossibly closer. **“** Babe, I love that you love your Christmas traditions, but you’re killing me, Hollis. **”** She didn’t want to ruin whatever strangely-complicated Christmas reveal Laura had planned, and she did feel bad about her little guilty-trip, but there really was no way she could have waited for this story.

**“** Right, that’s fair. **”** Laura smiled, playing with the zipper on Carmilla’s jacket as she spoke. **“** It’s just - you always give me these amazing gifts. And I don’t just mean at Christmas. All year you’re surprising me with date nights and theater trips and museum tickets and all kinds of amazing, sappy things that I don’t deserve. **”**

Carmilla fought the urge to interrupt her there, wanting to object to the word ‘sappy’ and the idea that Laura didn’t deserve everything the universe could ever give her and more. She let her girlfriend continue, however, knowing she’d built a momentum up.

**“** I just wanted to do something amazing for you. Something unexpected but perfect and I’ve been planning and arranging this tr-- this _gift_ for months. **”** Carmilla was beaming now, heart warming at the dedication and passion and _love_ in Laura’s eyes: and the fact that it was all for her.

**“** So why the elf get-up? **”** Carmilla probed softly, not rushing the story, but rather reminding Laura to continue speaking after the two got distracted in each other’s eyes. **"** _Not_ that I object to it. Have I told you you make little bells and elf stockings extremely sexy? **”**

Laura laughed at that comment. Carmilla wasn’t joking.

**“** I’m still on a trainee-contract at work. So no matter how much I’ve been saving, what with travel expenses and other gifts and bills and the cost of us moving in Summer, I never had quite enough. Julee at work suggested I get a part-time job when I was complaining to her last month, so.. **”**

She had trailed off again, gesturing to her outfit and then at the queue of children behind them, waiting for their turn to sit on Santa’s lap on the night before Christmas. They were all smiling -- some holding their parents’ hands in nerves, some jumping up and down in excitement, some screaming and some crying, but all feeling the same sentiment of Christmas joy.

Somehow, the way Laura made Carmilla feel on that bench with just her words and her smile and her stupid, little elf-hat, Carmilla’s smile outshone them all.

Now finished with her story, Laura’s apprehensive look was returning, so Carmilla cupped her cheek before the feeling could fester. **“** Are you telling me, **”** she murmured, voice practically a whisper as she toyed with Laura’s hair, **“** that you have been wearing this outfit and working with bratty, snotty kids for a whole month, just to buy me something special? **”**

The mall was full to the point of bursting, what with the last minute shopping sprees going on around them. Still, the couple felt like the only people in the room, every limb on their bodies somehow touching the skin of the other, as close as they possible could get. Both of Carmilla’s arms were around Laura now, and she was burrowing her head into her chest, scattering small kisses on her leather-clad skin.

**“** Yes. **”** Her reply was also a whisper, and whilst the softness in her voice made her sound shy, there was also a hint of pride in her voice. She knew she was going out of her way to do something that would make Carmilla happy, which made her happier than any other Christmas tradition of theirs had done so far. It was a weird feeling. She loved it.

It was their sixth Christmas spent together, and in that time they had fought anglerfish demons and gods of war and gods of death and literal death, twice. Carmilla couldn’t wait for a thousand more Christmases, a thousand more days in front of fireplaces with hot chocolate, and a thousand more wild rushes to find a turkey for her girlfriend’s father.

She loved her crazy elf more than she could voice, but also knew she didn’t need to. **“** I’d be happy with nothing, because I get to wake up next to you every day of the year. No gift could beat that. **”**

Laura laughed - her way of showing that she was overwhelmed with love at Carmilla’s words, but also wasn’t afraid to point out just how sappy they were. She was playing with the collar of her flannel now, confidence taking over her once more. **“** You deserve more than that, **”** she replied plainly, as if it were the simplest thing in the world. Every day, Carmilla was believing the statement more and more.

Carmilla still had a whole turkey in her backpack as she stood by the grotto, watching Laura finish her shift, smiling as children hugged her goodbye or asked her for photos. She got one of her own, once the mall Santa retired from his chair for the night, and whilst her Christmas day with Laura, and her Boxing Day with Laura, and her New Years Eve with Laura were all perfect, her favourite moment of the year was when she wrapped her arms around her girlfriend in front of the giant Christmas tree, her black jacket and red flannel and leather trousers clasing with Laura’s red slippers and flouncy dress and jingling green hat.

Kissing her cheek as the camera flashed, Carmilla knew that whatever Laura had been saving up to get her, she already had the best gift the universe could provide.

**Author's Note:**

> Man, Carmilla is such a sap.
> 
> Sorry for any mistakes in this. I didn't want to stay up until midnight tonight (my own weird tradition) so it was kind of rushed, and it definitely wasn't meant to be this long anyway. This is the fluffiest thing I've ever written - I've never written anything without angst - so I hope it came off well!
> 
> I hope you have an amazing day tomorrow, no matter how you spend it. We all deserve it.


End file.
